How has the Advocate Grant Program impacted you?

Want to diversify STEM? Here’s an opportunity to do so. The Society’s Advocate Grant Program aims to bolster the participation of underrepresented and low-income students in science research competitions by providing mentors with training, stipends of $3,000 and year-round support. To accompany our previous post that highlighted the unique aspects of the program, below find feedback we’ve received from Advocates about how this program has made a difference for their classrooms and students. The Advocate Grant Program application deadline is March 5, 2019. Apply today!

“Being an Advocate has empowered me to allow my students to dream. My students are usually limited by resources. However, as an Advocate, I can give them space, time and more importantly the tools to explore science. I've witnessed how science research and working towards a science competition has improved my students’ self-esteem and helped them develop skills that they transfer into their classes.”

Amy Douglas, Captain Shreve High School, Shreveport, Louisiana

“Being an Advocate has allowed me to host a community STEM event to show the film, Science Fair, attend the Society’s 2017 Research Teachers Conference and the 4th Life Discovery Conference (a science biology education conference). I am heading to the Kavali Institute for Theoretical Physics Teachers Conference next month because of other Advocates sharing professional development opportunities.”

“I have been working with students on academic competitions for many years. The Advocate program has provided me with the resources I need to be able to say "Yes!" to mentoring in any research area that a student would want to pursue.”

“I am a college professor who works with underserved high school students in the summer. The program has allowed me to take it one step further and turn those projects into competitive science fair projects. It has also given me the opportunity to closely network with high school teachers across the nation and gain insights into the science preparation that some students receive.”

Alexis Mychajliw, La Brea Tar Pits & Museum, Los Angeles, California

“The Advocate Program has allowed me to make tangible progress towards one of my own personal goals as a professional scientist, which is to break down barriers that prevent underrepresented and low-income students from participating in science careers. I have been able to use my position as a museum researcher to support team-building activities and develop a cohort of confident young scientists who value each other's critical feedback. As women are significantly underrepresented in the geosciences, I am particularly excited to have an opportunity to make geoscience careers feel accessible to female students through hands-on geology and paleontology research at the La Brea Tar Pits.”